1870-1890 US Stamp Bill Books Now Available

Quote:
The Stamp Division of the Post Office Department was responsible for the collection of the revenues of the postal service and its financial operations. These duties included supervising the manufacture of adhesive postal stamps, postal cards, stamped envelopes, and newspaper wrappers; of official penalty envelopes; and of registered package envelopes; as well as providing postmasters with supplies of these items; keeping accounts for these supplies; and settling bills of private contractors furnishing the supplies. Supplies of postage stamps, special delivery stamps, stamped envelopes, letter sheet envelopes, postal cards, registered package and other official envelopes furnished to postmasters through the Stamp Division were procured by the Post Office Department through contracts with private contractors.

An act of March 3, 1847, authorized the Postmaster General to prepare postage stamps that, when attached to any letter or packet, would be evidence of the payment of postage. An act of August 31, 1852, authorized the Post Office Department to furnish postmasters with stamped letter envelopes. Postal cards were furnished to postmasters in 1873.

Entries in these volumes include the number and denomination of postage stamps printed for ordinary postage stamps, stamped envelopes and newspaper wrappers, Post Office and regular package envelopes, postal cards, Post Office and dead letter envelopes, postage due stamps, letter sheet envelopes, and specimen postage stamps. The volumes also include tables showing yearly appropriations and expenditures for fiscal years 1882-97. The volumes also give the date that the bill from the printer of the stamps was approved for payment.